Bhubaneswar, Sept 15: Demand for chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s resignation rent the air here today as BJP’s Odisha unit demonstrated near Raj Bhavan for recommending coal blocks for private industries.

Holding the Congress-led government at the Centre equally responsible for the scam, the party demanded a probe into it by a special investigation team.

The state unit’s attack on Naveen is a clear departure from the stance of the national unit. BJP national general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan, who too hails from Odisha, had given a clean chit to the ruling Biju Janata Dal on the issue. Pradhan had said that Naveen did nothing wrong in recommending coal blocks for industries.

“The Naveen Patnaik government is as guilty as the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre,” said BJP state president Juel Oram today.

Echoing Oram, former law minister and senior BJP leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan said: “The one who recommends a theft is also equally guilty in the eyes of the law.”

Union minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s office V. Narayanswamy on Thursday, during his visit to Odisha, had accused Naveen of recommending coal blocks for Jindal Steel and Power and had virtually urged the CBI to probe into the recommendations made by the state government.

Naveen, on his part, defended the action saying his government had done nothing wrong in making recommendations to the Centre.

His government’s position is that the block which was sought to be allotted for the Jindal Steel and Power’s Odisha project was initially given to a private company for its Tamil Nadu project. But, as the company had failed to meet the deadline, the Odisha government had recommended the block for the Jindals.

Accusing Naveen of being “hand-in-glove” with the Congress, Oram said: “He always talks of neglect by the Centre. But he never utters a word against Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan Singh. ”